Computer animation program honored

Computer animation program honored

Posted on 11/14/2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, Nov. 14, 2016

Bluffton Elementary earns statewide honors

for computer animation and coding program

BEAUFORT – Bluffton Elementary School is again attracting praise for its computer animation and coding school choice curriculum, earning a 2016 Technology Innovative Program Award from the South Carolina Association for Educational Technology.

Bluffton Elementary’s Animation, Creation and Design program encourages students to use technology for research, collaboration and project presentations. Students learn computer coding through WeDO robotics, Ozobots, Dash and Dot, LEGO robotics, app creation and web page design. The program also includes a gaming component that allows students to create, design and use computer games that feature 2D, 3D and stop-motion computer animation.

“Computer coding isn’t easy, and our students make mistakes all the time,” Brown said. “But the neat thing is how willing and able they are to persevere when they experience those failures. They learn to work through their coding glitches and figure out how they can solve problems on their own without automatically running to teachers for help.”

Brown accepted the 2016 Technology Innovative Program Award at the recent SCAET-sponsored South Carolina EdTech Conference in Myrtle Beach. The EdTech Conference is organized by SCAET in coordination with partners from K-12 education, colleges and universities statewide, state government agencies and telecommunications companies.

“We fully anticipate that Bluffton Elementary will continue to earn recognition for this cutting-edge program,” said Superintendent Jeff Moss. “To see what these very young students are capable of accomplishing is really inspiring.”

The 2016 SCAET award is just the latest recognition for Bluffton Elementary’s program, which had previously been featured in a Discovery Channel television show. A Discovery Channel crew visited Bluffton Elementary to interview and record students as they worked with a computer program that allowed them to develop and produce their own animated shorts.